Developer's Diary #15 - Characters
May 31, 2017 21:07:42 GMT
Lightflame, Snowspirit, and 3 more like this
Post by Leonard on May 31, 2017 21:07:42 GMT
Today I'm going to focus on party members again, but this time from more narrative approach.
Let's talk about how things went in the first Act before moving to plans with the second act.
Act I
With four characters, there were 6 combinations of character pairs. I think the game gave a solid understanding of how each two characters interacted with each other.
One thing that I'm not particularly happy is the character's introduction - All four apprentices get introduced at the same time, and don't have much potential to establish well what sort of characters they are. That's not a thing that's fixable at this point, but it's something to consider when introducing new characters.
Other party members with limited presence (Creekskip, Tempestpaw, Voideyes and the ShadowClan member) have a lot stronger first 'establishing' scenes, that gives the player a good understanding of character's personality from the get-go.
The other thing that I've been aiming for and I think was accomplished was creating a cohesive expression of characters through the game mechanics: Kestrelpaw is weak and fragile, but tries to compensate with the clever move usage. Duskpaw has the highest strength, but his lack of refined technique means that he can't amplify it with the Clan moves. Nettlepaw may appear to deal less damage by just looking at her stats, but in reality she is way ahead, thanks to both her techniques and stances. Badgerpaw starts the game with a very incoherent set of moves and doesn't learn new moves during Act I (except for heroics... But they are something else) - displaying both her lack of interest and her laziness. And I think many players have found themselves controlling Tempestpaw too much like he would do it himself - with no regards for safety...
This will be continued into the characters that appear in Act II - and I think it will be both easier to show, and more clear to the players with the introduction of the passive skills. Creekskip, for example will start the game with a passive skill 'Prejudiced', which makes her unwilling to use her supportive skills on the cats with the unpure heritage. That may make some things complicated - but, perhaps, things can change...
Act II
Now, instead of 6 character pairs from 4 characters, we have a total of 36 from 9 (or 45 if we include the main character). That's six time as more, but there's also going to be more focus on the player's party - so it may not be as much work as it looks.
There was only one finished heroic quest in the first Act - but there was another that started in it. There are going to be quite a few more of them, and they'll have a meaningful effect on the character's behaviour as some readers can already tell with Badgerpaw. Every character is going to have at least one, through some of them will connect.
In the first Act, most of the characters acted relatively friendly not only to the main character, but also to the other apprentices. Creating a friendly atmosphere in a close group and giving the Kittypet a reason to stay in the Clan was an important task, but now, when cats from all the Clans will have to work together, things are going to get more complicated. Outside from obvious interClan rivalries and some personal conflicts (like Duskpaw and Tempestpaw's rivalry) there will be more conflict of characters - and keeping everyone happy may not be as easy as it was in Act I. As much as I'd like to talk about 45 possible pairwise character interactions, let's just focus on two now.
Voideyes will probably not be the most cat among the other party members and Voideyes doesn't have a high opinion of others as well. However, Voideyes does have a special affinity for medicine cats - and how many of them are going to be in the party, as well as who they are may be different in different playthroughs, highlighting the importance of choices in the first act.
Another thing that observant players may have noticed in the first Act is Kestrelpaw's sympathy towards Creekskip. She, partially because of her brother, understands his struggle well and sympathize with him. Genuine approval is something that Kestrelpaw has looked for so long and he enjoys her company greatly, but it will drive a wedge into his relationship with other cats, Nettlepaw in particular. While he doesn't approve of Creekskip beliefs, he may find it hard to stand up to a cat that understands him so well... And if left together, maybe he'll even adopt her views. Character development doesn't have to mean becoming better...
Though You will have to wait and see it for Yourselves.
Aside from that, two more updates.
One, I'll be inactive for the next few days due to some personal business.
Two, after I'll return (5-6th June?) I'll get back to work and I preliminary plan to release the final content patch for Act I somewhat around the end of June. I hope to add some stuff in the areas where I think Act I is lacking, drags somewhat or the stuff that will have to be made for Act II regardless... It's going to be the biggest update so far, and by a large margin. Be prepared for some surprises... Details will come later.
Let's talk about how things went in the first Act before moving to plans with the second act.
Act I
With four characters, there were 6 combinations of character pairs. I think the game gave a solid understanding of how each two characters interacted with each other.
One thing that I'm not particularly happy is the character's introduction - All four apprentices get introduced at the same time, and don't have much potential to establish well what sort of characters they are. That's not a thing that's fixable at this point, but it's something to consider when introducing new characters.
Other party members with limited presence (Creekskip, Tempestpaw, Voideyes and the ShadowClan member) have a lot stronger first 'establishing' scenes, that gives the player a good understanding of character's personality from the get-go.
The other thing that I've been aiming for and I think was accomplished was creating a cohesive expression of characters through the game mechanics: Kestrelpaw is weak and fragile, but tries to compensate with the clever move usage. Duskpaw has the highest strength, but his lack of refined technique means that he can't amplify it with the Clan moves. Nettlepaw may appear to deal less damage by just looking at her stats, but in reality she is way ahead, thanks to both her techniques and stances. Badgerpaw starts the game with a very incoherent set of moves and doesn't learn new moves during Act I (except for heroics... But they are something else) - displaying both her lack of interest and her laziness. And I think many players have found themselves controlling Tempestpaw too much like he would do it himself - with no regards for safety...
This will be continued into the characters that appear in Act II - and I think it will be both easier to show, and more clear to the players with the introduction of the passive skills. Creekskip, for example will start the game with a passive skill 'Prejudiced', which makes her unwilling to use her supportive skills on the cats with the unpure heritage. That may make some things complicated - but, perhaps, things can change...
Act II
Now, instead of 6 character pairs from 4 characters, we have a total of 36 from 9 (or 45 if we include the main character). That's six time as more, but there's also going to be more focus on the player's party - so it may not be as much work as it looks.
There was only one finished heroic quest in the first Act - but there was another that started in it. There are going to be quite a few more of them, and they'll have a meaningful effect on the character's behaviour as some readers can already tell with Badgerpaw. Every character is going to have at least one, through some of them will connect.
In the first Act, most of the characters acted relatively friendly not only to the main character, but also to the other apprentices. Creating a friendly atmosphere in a close group and giving the Kittypet a reason to stay in the Clan was an important task, but now, when cats from all the Clans will have to work together, things are going to get more complicated. Outside from obvious interClan rivalries and some personal conflicts (like Duskpaw and Tempestpaw's rivalry) there will be more conflict of characters - and keeping everyone happy may not be as easy as it was in Act I. As much as I'd like to talk about 45 possible pairwise character interactions, let's just focus on two now.
Voideyes will probably not be the most cat among the other party members and Voideyes doesn't have a high opinion of others as well. However, Voideyes does have a special affinity for medicine cats - and how many of them are going to be in the party, as well as who they are may be different in different playthroughs, highlighting the importance of choices in the first act.
Another thing that observant players may have noticed in the first Act is Kestrelpaw's sympathy towards Creekskip. She, partially because of her brother, understands his struggle well and sympathize with him. Genuine approval is something that Kestrelpaw has looked for so long and he enjoys her company greatly, but it will drive a wedge into his relationship with other cats, Nettlepaw in particular. While he doesn't approve of Creekskip beliefs, he may find it hard to stand up to a cat that understands him so well... And if left together, maybe he'll even adopt her views. Character development doesn't have to mean becoming better...
Though You will have to wait and see it for Yourselves.
Aside from that, two more updates.
One, I'll be inactive for the next few days due to some personal business.
Two, after I'll return (5-6th June?) I'll get back to work and I preliminary plan to release the final content patch for Act I somewhat around the end of June. I hope to add some stuff in the areas where I think Act I is lacking, drags somewhat or the stuff that will have to be made for Act II regardless... It's going to be the biggest update so far, and by a large margin. Be prepared for some surprises... Details will come later.